Brian Booher likes a quiet lunch break in the park with his laptop. But finding peace and quiet is getting tougher every day for him.
He gets automated calls, day after day.
"The latest one," he said, "is from Rachel, who says I have been approved for a business loan."
"Sorry I missed you, it's Rachel. I'm just following up on that piece of mail," the call he recorded on his phone says.
Booher says his cell phone is being targeted by automated debt collectors.
"Calls for collectors and stuff, for somebody else's debt," he said.
And of course he continues to get the now infamous IRS scam call.
"This is Christine calling from the investigation department of the IRS." He notes the the five-year-old IRS scam now comes with a female voice, as do most others nowadays.
And all year, he has been plagued by 2017's No. 1 unwanted caller, "Emily the headset girl."
"Hello! Oh, hi there, oh I am so sorry about that. I was having a little problem with my headset," she says.
Worse, he says, is that they all now use fake, or "spoofed" numbers.
"I get calls that sounds like from India, and it's a number from Chicago," he said.
Simple ways to block these calls
Good news: More and more blocking apps will now stop those calls.
9 top rated blocking apps for smartphones include:
- Privacy Star
- Mr Number
- Calls Blacklist
- Call Blocker for Android phones
- True Caller for iPhones
- YouMail visual voicemail
- AT&T's Call Protect robocall blocker, for all AT&T Wireless customers.
- NoMoRobo, one of the most popular of all, which works on internet based landline phones (VOIP), as well as iPhones and Androids.
Finally, though not exactly an app, it's worth it to make sure you are still on the "Do Not Call" list. It won't stop scammers, but will keep legitimate companies like banks and warranty companies from calling.
Booher may give a couple of them a try, so he can get his quiet lunch break back again.
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